Detachable rear sight for shotguns



June 11, 1 57 p SEYMOUR ET AL 2,795,@48

DETACHABLE REAR SIGHT FOR SHOTGUNS Filed April 25, 1956 w SM Y NE M E10 P m H P LAWRE NOE 0. SEYMOUR ATTORNEY 2-, 0 4 8 Patented June 1 1 1 957 DETACHABLE REAR SIGHT FOR SHOTGUNS Philip J. Seymour and Lawrence 0. Seymour, Clinton, Mass.

Application April 23, 1956, Serial No. 580,108

1 Claim. (Cl. 33-=47) This invention relates to a new and improved detachable rear shotgun sight for shotguns which are provided with sighting ribs on the barrels, whether such ribs are solid or ventilated, and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of an easily detachable rear shotgun sight, whereby the object aimed at may be more clearly seen and more accurately sighted, in combination with a particular construction accommodating the sighting rib and providing material for the securement of a peep-sight to a resilient body member which detachably grips the barrel itself just in front of the receiver, the peep-sight being mounted upon an inverted trough-like member that accommodates the rib above described and is firmly centrally held to the barrel thereby in accurate sighting relation to the usual front sight.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates the invention as applied to a conventional shotgun;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the sight on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a modification.

The shotgun shown in Fig. 1 is of conventional construction and it may be an automatic, a pump gun, or a single-barrel single-shot. The barrel of the gun in any event is indicated by the reference numeral 10, and it is provided with a sighting rib generally indicated at 12. This sighting rib may be hollow, solid or ventilated as is well known in the art and aids the shooter in faster han dling and shooting. The rib 12 extends from the receiver 14 to the muzzle of the gun at 16 and adjacent the muzzle there is a front sight 18 conventionally mounted.

The present invention relates to a rear sight which is provided with an opening or peep-sight through which the front sight 18 is visible as shown in Fig. 3 in order to more easily align the gun barrel with the target. Usually, no rear sight is provided with a shot-gun, but in many instances, especially for deer hunting, a rear sight greatly improves accuracy and speed of getting off a shot.

In the present case, the novel detachable sight is illustrated as made of some springy material such as for instance steel. It is made essentially of one piece including arc-shaped resilient side members or legs 29, 20 which are arranged to grip the barrel 10 as illustrated in Fig. 3. The tension with which the legs 20 grip the bar rel 10 is suificient to maintain the sight itself mounted on the barrel as shown in Fig. 1 but permits quick and easy removal of the sight from the gun barrel when it is not needed.

The two legs 20, 20 approach each other as at 22 and are joined by an inverted trough-shaped construction which is generally indicated at 24 and is provided with side members 26 blending into the respective legs 20, 20. This trough will be made sufficient to encompass the rib 12 which in Fig. 3 is shown as solid, and it is to be particularly noted that if the rib 12 is not used on the gun as is sometimes the case, the present sight will be mounted upon the gun barrel exactly the same as before, so that the present detachable sight may be used on any shotgun barrel, Whether it has a rib or not. However, with the rib, the novel rear sight is firmly and accurately held against lateral slippage and hence the sight is always in correct position for fast sighting and shooting.

The sides 26 of the trough 24 provide sutficient material which may be punched out and bent up as at 28 to form tabs 30, located one on each side of the inverted trough 24. Between these tabs 30, 30, the peepsight 32 may be fixed as by welding, etc. It is preferred that the peepsight 32 have a fairly large aperture 34 as distinct from the usual peepsight found on a rifle. This ensures easy alignment with the front sight is as shown in Fig. 3 as is desirable with shotgun shooting.

When the gun is to be used for deer hunting and solid slugs or large buckshot are used for ammunition, the present sight clearly provides an easier, faster, and much more accurate alignment with the target as compared with using no sight at all as is usually the case and also as compared with the use of the rib itself. It will be clear that the elevation of the shot will be much more accurate and the eye will not tend to wander from side-toside as is the case where the rear sight is lacking. However, if it is desired not to use the sight, as for instance in bird shooting, the same is quickly and easily removed from the barrel merely by pulling it off.

There is another form of the invention shown in Fig. 4 wherein the material is molded from plastic rather than steel or other resilient metal. In this case, the legs are indicated at 46, 40 and the trough at 42. Instead of having the separate sight 32, the sight construction generally indicated at 44 is molded integral with the trough 42 at the inverted bottom surface thereof as clearly shown. The sight 44 is provided with a relatively large round opening 46 which compares almost exactly with the opening 34 as shown in Fig. 3.

In the case of the metallic detachable sight, the inside surfaces of the legs 20, 20 should be felted, rubberized, or otherwise provided with cushioning material so as not to scratch the gun barrel; but in case of the molded plastic device of Fig. 4, particularly when nylon is used, such protection will not be needed, as the material of the molded detachable sight is itself of a nature which will not scratch the gun barrel or injure the bluing.

It will be seen that this invention provides against any lateral displacement of the detachable sight by reason of the coaction of the rib 12 with respect to the trough 24 since the rib fits within the trough and thus holds the sight in clear alignment with the front sight 18, as distinct from detachable sights which may be mounted on barrels but which fail to have any protection against displacement in a lateral manner. It will be obvious that any such displacement completely spoils the shot and foils the exact purpose for which the sight is provided.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what we claim is:

A detachable rear sight for a single barrel shotgun having a raised rib on the barrel, comprising a main body portion including a pair of resilient legs, said legs being formed on arcs and having concave portions facing each other to grip the gun barrel, an inverted trough construction joining said legs and adapted to accommodate the rib, said trough being unencumbered and clear for the reception of the rib, and an apertured sighting member located at the exterior surface of said trough centrally thereof and located above the gun body portion of the device and above the rib, said trough in coaction with said rib References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wright Jan. 14, 1919 4 Schrank Sept. 4, 1928 Hooks Apr. 22, 1941 Jefieries Jan. 6, 1948 Dickinson Sept. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 24, 1921 France Mar. 20, 1922 

